Attachment for telephone-transmitters.



T. LUBY.

ATTACHMENT FOR TELEPHONE TRANSMITTERS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 15. 1914.

1,138,389. Patented May 4,1915.

INVENTOR THEODORE LUBY BY ms ATTORNEY NiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE LUBY, 0E PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR O F ONE-HALF TO MARCUS BOTHSCHILD, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1915.

Application filed August 15, 1914. Serial No. 856,890.

1 0 all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE LUBY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Attachments for Telephone-Transmitters, of which the fol-- lowing is a specification.

My invention consists of a telephone attachment intended to prevent use of the transmitter except 'with the knowledge and consent of the subscriber or legitimate user of the instrument.

The invention consists of a closure for the transmitter which closure is held in place upon the transmitter by means of a locking device so that the closure cannot be released without first opening said look.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of a telephone transmitter with one form of my protective attachment applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the transmitter with the attachment in place thereon; Fig. 3 is a front view of the mouth piece closure; Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the device for locking the attachment to the'transmitter; Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating a modified form of lock for usein connection with said device, and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of another form of my improved protective attachment.

Much controversy arises between telephone companies and their subscribers because of discrepancy in accounts caused by use of the telephone without the subscribers knowledge, and it is with the view of preventing such unauthorized use that my invention has been devised.

In the drawing, 1 represents the transmitter of a telephone instrument and 2 the mouth piece of the same, to which is applied a closing device consisting of a disk 3 having pivotally mounted at itsopposite ends arms 4 and 5, the arm 4 having pivotally mounted upon it the members (3 and 7 of a yoke which is constructed to embrace the neck of the transmitter, the free end of each of these yoke members having a slot therein for the reception of the other arm 5, one of these slots being horizontal and the other vertical, so that when the yoke members engage the arm, as shown in Fig. 4, said arm cannot be removed from engage ment therewith.

In order to secure the yoke members in locking engagement with the neck of the transmitter any suitable form of lock may be combined therewith, the lock being by preference mounted upon one of the yoke members, as shown at 8, and having a bolt which engages the other member and prevents separation of the two members until said bolt has been retracted by use of a key or other suitable means in the possession of the telephone subscriber. Then, therefore, the attachment has been applied to the transmitter in the manner shown in Figs. 1. and 2, use of the same is effectually prevented and the subscriber can be assured that his account cannot be properly charged with any calls other than those made with his knowledge and consent.

\Vhile it is preferable to mount the looking device directly upon one of the yoke members of the attachment the same may be confined by means of an independent lock, if desired, such for instance as the padlock shown at 8 in Fig. 5.

In that embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. (5 a two-part ring 9 is secured upon the body of the transmitter so that it cannot be removed therefrom, and this ring has forwardly projecting arms 10 and 11, to one of which the mouth piece closing disk 3 is pivoted, so that it can, when desired, be adjusted to the position shown by full lines and secured in such position by a lock 8 carried by the other arm, in order to close the mouth piece, or when released by the lock can be thrownup as shown by dotted lines when it is desired to use the transmitter.

I am aware that prior to my invention closures have vbeen applied to the mouth pieces of telephone transmitters for the purpose of preventing unauthorized use of the. transmitter, but such devices have usually been mounted upon the mouth piece and therefore fail of their intended purpose because the mouth piece can be readily removed from the transmitter and the latter used without it, whereas the closure constituting part of my attachment is confined to the transmitter itself and the latter cannot be used without opening the lock which secures the closure in place. My invention can, with equally good effect, be constructed for application to a transmitter from which the mouth piece has been removed, the disk 3 in this case closing the opening in the transmitter casin to which the mouth piece is usually applied. 7

I claim:

l. The combination of a' telephone transmitter having a forward portion of greater diameter than that in the rear of the same and a forwardly projecting mouth piece, a clamp applied to the contracted rear portion of the transmitter, arms projecting forwardly from said clamp to the front of the mouth piece, and a closure for said mouth piece carried by the front ends of said arms.

2. The combination of a telephone receiver having a forward portion of greater diameter than that in theirear and having also a forwardly projecting mouth piece, a split clamp applied to the contracted rear portion of the receiver, means for confining said split clamp in place thereon, arms eX- tending forwardly from said clamp to the front of the mouth piece, and a closure for said mouth piece carried by the forward ends of said arms. 7

3. The combination of a telephone transmitter having a forward portion of greater diameter than the portion in the rear thereof and also having a forwardly projecting mouth piece, a yoke embracing the contracted rear portion of the transmitter and comprising two members pivoted together at one end and provided at the other end with means for retaining them in contracted relation, arms projecting forwardly from said yoke to the front end. of the transmitter, and

' other of said arms.

5. A telephone transmitter attachment comprising a closure for the transmitter, yoke members engaging the neck of the transmitter, and arms extending from said closure to the yoke, one of said arms constituting a pivot for the yoke members which have at their opposite ends angularly disposed slots for the reception of the other arm, the latter being pivoted to the closure. In testimony whereof, I have signed-my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THEODORE LUBY. lVitnesses:

CHAs. BENTLEY COLLINS, KATE A. BEADLE. 

